美国社会家庭婚姻之问题——析《这年的秋天》的叙事艺术

Marital Problems in Modern American Families——On the Narrative Art of In the Autumn of the Year

欧茨早期的代表作《这年的秋天》叙事艺术高超,展现了她对于美国现代家庭婚姻问题的思索。小说的叙事结构明显,欧茨从过去和现在两个层面综合展现了埃莉诺从年轻时到年老时完整的生活历程,使读者了解到一段婚外情对埃莉诺生活的影响,透过这些人物形象揭示出20世纪中后期美国社会存在的婚姻危机。

In the Autumn of the Year is a representative work of Joyce Carol Oates. Its superb narrative art exhibits her consideration to marital problems in modern American families. The novel has a distinct narrative structure which proceeds in the levels of the present time and the past time alternatively, showing the character Eleanor＇s life experience from youth to old age and ena- bling the readers to understand the impact of extramarital affairs to Eleanor＇s life. The characters＇ images disclose marital crisis in American society in the mid and late 20th century.